COMMODITIES: The Big Secret

Shortly after dawn, seven men in a
guarded room in Washington's Department of Agriculture building crowded
around a large metal bo., with two heavy padlocks. One man opened the
first lock, another the second. Then for almost five hours, they pulled
sealed envelopes from the box, tore them open, and carefully tabulated
reports from farmers all over the U.S. A few minutes before n, the
guards unlocked the doors, admitted Agriculture Secretary Charlie
Brannan. Once he had examined the totals, signed his name and marched
out again, the doors were thrown open. In came a dozen reporters to...